On Makar Sankranti and Pongal, the ordinance prohibits bathing at river banks, ghats, ponds, seashores, or near other water bodies.
Concerned about the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state, the Odisha government banned all religious gatherings on January 14 in honour of Makar Sankranti and Pongal festival celebrations.
On the occasion of Makar Sankranti and Pongal, as well as the next day, the office of the special relief commissioner (SRC) issued a special rule prohibiting bathing at river banks, ghats, ponds, sea coastlines, or near other water bodies.
People are urged to execute the rituals and puja at home with only their family members on this special day. It advised them to avoid large gatherings and follow the COVID-19 safety protocols.
The government also ordered all district magistrates, municipal commissioners, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack commissioner of police, and police superintendents to aggressively follow the guidelines.
The health department in Odisha reported 7,071 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, a dramatic increase of 46 percent over the previous day’s tally of 4829 cases and the largest one-day spike in over seven months.
On June 5 of last year, the state had 7395 cases on its books.
With the latest infections, the total number of infections has risen to 10.83 lakh, and the daily positive rate has increased to 10.25 percent from 6.5 percent the day before.
Seven hundred and seven youngsters have been infected in the last 24 hours, according to the warning.
The Khurda district, which includes Bhubaneswar, recorded over one-third of the cases, with 2,226 persons infected. Sundargarh had 1,147 infections, with 609 in Sambalpur and 505 in Cuttack, according to the report.
The number of active cases has risen to 27,216, with 8,609 in Khurda, which, along with Sundargarh and Sambalpur, is in the red zone. According to the advisory, Cuttack is in the yellow zone, with 2,000 coronavirus patients.
The daily positivity rate in Sundargarh is 22.8 percent, whereas it is 17.1 percent in Khurda, 15.8 percent in Sambalpur, and 11.1 percent in Cuttack. According to the department, nine districts, including Puri, Jharsuguda, and Bolangir, have a positive rate of 5-10 percent.
With another death in Bolangir district, the death toll now stands at 8,469 people. After an audit, it was determined that the deaths were caused by Covid. According to the report, 53 other coronavirus patients died as a result of comorbidities.
In the last 24 hours, 414 patients recovered, bringing the caseload to 10.83 lakh and the number of recoveries to 10.47 lakh. During that time, the state tested 69,018 samples, according to the notice.
Bijay Mohapatra, the director of Odisha’s health services, said more than 19,000 active patients were under home isolation, and the state’s hospital admission rate was low.
According to Mohapatra, there is no room for complacency because hospitalisation may escalate as the number of patients rises.
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